T180's 6th Gear (change Indicator)

[OldSkoO1]

When i'm running at a steady speed with traffic i normally select a gear that gives me about 1,400-1,600k rpm to maintain a steady speed and gives pretty good economy.

The change light indicator normally lights up around 2k in every gear up to 5th gear and if you change using those lights it normally puts you in the range stated above for the next gear.

Why is 6th gear different? The change light indicator doesn't normally light up until approx 2.5k and then once changed you sit around 2k RPM.

So why is this, is it emissions, is it laboring, is there any reason not to choose 6th gear which would give an economical 1,400 - 1,600k rpm at 55/60mph my most common speed.

[cabcurtains]

I would guess the idea is to change gear at the top of the max torque band, this will then drop the revs into the bottom of the max torque band thus giving you pulling power straight away, as 6th is a long gear changing earlier may cause the car to bog as the engine/gearing may not be capable of lugging from low down in 6th as it can in the other gears especially if your on an incline.

As with all driving aids the vehicle can't see the road ahead.